that part of Asia Minor which from them was called Doris, where they built Halicarnassus, Cnidus, and other cities, and made themselves masters of the islands of Rhodes, Cos, &c.

The Grecian Dialects.

It will now be more easy to understand what we have to say concerning the several Grecian dialects. These were four in number: the Attic, the Ionic, the Doric, and the Æolic. They were in reality four different languages, each of them perfect in its kind, and used by a distinct nation; but yet all derived from, and grounded upon, the same original tongue. And this diversity of languages can no ways appear wonderful in a country where the inhabitants consisted of different nations, that did not depend upon one another, but had each its particular territories.

1. The Attic dialect is that which was used in Athens, and the country round about. This dialect has been chiefly used by Thucydides, Aristophanes, Plato, Isocrates, Xenophon, and Demosthenes.

2. The Ionic dialect was almost the same with the ancient Attic; but after it had passed into several towns of Asia Minor, and into the adjacent islands, which were colonies of the Athenians, and of the people of Achaia, it received a sort of new tincture, and did not come up to that perfect delicacy which the Athenians afterwards attained. Hippocrates and Herodotus wrote in this dialect.

3. The Doric was first in use among the Spartans, and the people of Argos; it passed afterwards into Epirus, Libya, Sicily, Rhodes, and Crete. Archimedes and Theocritus, both of them Syracusans, and Pindar, followed this dialect.

4. The Eolic dialect was at first used by the Bootians and their neighbours, and then in Æolis, a country in Asia Minor, between Ionia and Mysia, which contained ten or twelve cities, that were Grecian colonies. Sappho and Alcæus, of whose works very little remains, wrote in this dialect. We find also a mixture of it in the writings of Theocritus, Pindar, Homer, and many others.

ARTICLE VI.

The republican form of government almost generally established throughout Greece. The reader may have observed, in the little I have said about the several settlements of Greece, that the primordial grounds of all those different states was monarchical government, the most ancient of all forms, the most universally received and established, the most proper to maintain peace and concord; and which, as Plato observes,* is formed upon the model of paternal authority, and of that gentle and moderate dominion, which fathers exercise over their families.

* Plat. de Leg. l. iii. p. 680,

But, as the state of things degenerated by degrees, through the injustice of usurpers, the severity of lawful masters, the insurrections of the people, and a thousand accidents and revolutions, that happened in those states; a totally different spirit seized the people, which prevailed all over Greece, kindled a violent desire of liberty, and brought about a general change of government every where, except in Macedonia; so that monarchy gave way to a republican government, which however was diversified into almost as many various forms as there were different cities, according to the different genius and peculiar character of each people. However, there still remained a kind of tincture or leaven of the ancient monarchical government, which from time to time inflamed the ambition of many private citizens, and made them desire to become masters of their country. In almost every one of these petty states of Greece, some private persons arose, who without any right to the throne, either by birth or election of the citizens, endeavoured to advance themselves to it by cabal, treachery, and violence; and who, without any respect for the laws, or regard to the public good, exercised_a sovereign authority, with a despotic empire and arbitrary sway. In order to support their unjust usurpations in the midst of distrusts and alarms, they thought themselves obliged to prevent imaginary, or to suppress real conspiracies, by the most cruel proscriptions; and to sacrifice to their own security all those whom merit, rank, wealth, zeal for liberty, or love of their country, rendered obnoxious to a suspicious and tottering government, which found itself hated by all, and was sensible it deserved to be so. It was this cruel and inhuman treatment that rendered these men so odious, under the appellation of tyrants,* and which_furnished such ample matter for the declamation of orators, and the tragical representations of the theatre.

All these cities and districts of Greece, that seemed so entirely disjointed from one another by their laws, customs, and interests, were nevertheless formed and combined into one sole, entire, and united body; whose strength increased to such a degree, as to make the formidable power of the Persians under Darius and Xerxes tremble; and which even then, perhaps, would have entirely overthrown the Persian greatness, had the Grecian states been wise enough to preserve that union and concord among themselves, which afterwards rendered them invincible. This is the scene which I am now to open, and which certainly merits the reader's whole attention.

We shall see, in the following volumes, a small nation, confined within a country not equal to the fourth part of France, disputing for dominoin with the most powerful empire then upon the earth; and we shall see this handful of men, not only making head against the innumerable army of the Persians, but dispersing, routing, and cutting them to pieces, and sometimes reducing the Persian pride

* This word originally signified no more than king, and was anciently the title of lawful princes.

so low, as to make them submit to conditions of peace, as shameful to the conquered, as glorious for the conquerors.

Among the cities of Greece, there were two that particularly distinguished themselves, and acquired an authority and a kind of superiority over the rest, solely by their merit and conduct: these two were Lacedæmon and Athens. As these cities make a considerable figure, and act an illustrious part in the ensuing history, before I enter upon particulars, I think I ought first to give the reader some idea of the genius, character, manners, and government, of their respective inhabitants. Plutarch, in the lives of Lycurgus and Solon, will furnish me with the greatest part of what I have to say upon this head.

ARTICLE VII.

The Spartan government. Laws established by Lycurgus.

There is perhaps nothing in profane history better attested, and at the same time more incredible, than what relates to the government of Sparta, and the discipline established in it by Lycurgus. This legislator was the son of Eunomus,* one of the two kings who reigned together in Sparta. It would have been easy for Lycurgus to have ascended the throne after the death of his eldest brother, who left no son behind him; and in fact he was king for some days. But, as soon as his sister-in-law was found to be with child, he declared that the crown belonged to her son, if she had one; and from thenceforth he governed the kingdom only as his guardian. In the mean time, the widow gave him secretly to understand, that if he would promise to marry her when he was king, she would destroy the fruit of her womb. Šo detestable a proposal struck Lycurgus with horror; however, he concealed his indignation, and amusing the woman with different pretences, so managed it, that she went her full time, and was delivered. As soon as the child was born, he proclaimed him king, and took care to have him brought up and educated in a proper manner. This prince, on account of the joy which the people testified at his birth, was named Charilaus.

The state was at this time in great disorder;† the authority, both of the kings and the laws, being absolutely despised and disregarded, No curb was strong enough to restrain the audaciousness of the people, which every day increased more and more.

Lycurgus formed the bold design of making a thorough reformation in the Spartan government; and to be the more capable of making wise regulations, he thought fit to travel into several countries, in order to acquaint himself with the different manners of other nations, and to consult the most able and experienced persons in the art of government, He began with the island of Crete, whose harsh and austere laws are very famous; from thence he passed into

Asia, where quite different customs prevailed; and, last of all, he went into Egypt, which was then the seat of science, wisdom, and good counsels.

His long absence only made his country the more desirous of his return;* and the kings themselves importuned him to that purpose, being sensible how much they stood in need of his authority to keep the people within bounds, and in some degree of subjection and order. When he came back to Sparta, he undertook to change the whole form of their government, being persuaded, that a few particular laws would produce no great effect.

But before he put this design in execution, he went to Delphi, to consult the oracle of Apollo: where after having offered his sacrifice, he received that famous answer, in which the priestess called him a friend of the gods, and rather a god than a man. And as for

the favour he desired of being able to frame a set of good laws for his country, she told him, the god had heard his prayers, and that the commonwealth he was going to establish would be the most excellent state in the world.

On his return to Sparta, the first thing he did was to bring over to his designs the leading men of the city, whom he made acquainted with his views; and when he was assured of their approbation and concurrence, he went into the public market-place, accompanied with a number of armed men, in order to astonish and intimidate those who might desire to oppose his undertaking.

The new form of government which he introduced into Sparta, may be reduced to three principal institutions.

Of all the new regulations or institutions made by Lycurgus, the greatest and most considerable was that of the senate; which, by tempering and balancing, as Plato observes, the too absolute power of the kings, by an authority of equal weight and influence with theirs, became the principal support and preservation of that state. For whereas before, it was ever unsteady, and tending one while towards tyranny, by the violent proceeding of the kings; at other times towards democracy, by the excessive power of the people; the senate served as a kind of counterpoise to both, which kept the state in a due equilibrium, and preserved it in a firm and steady situation; the twenty-eight senators, of which it consisted, siding with the kings, when the people were grasping at too much power; and on the other hand espousing the interests of the people, whenever the kings attempted to carry their authority too far.

Lycurgus having thus tempered the government, those that came after him thought the power of the thirty, that composed the senate, still too strong and absolute; and therefore, as a check upon

*Plut. in vit. Lyc. p. 42.

† Ibid.

This council consisted of thirty persons, including the two kings.

them, they devised the authority of the Ephori,* about 130 years after Lycurgus. The Ephori were five in number, and remained but one year in office. They were all chosen out of the people; and in that respect considerably resembled the tribunes of the people among the Romans. Their authority extended to the arresting and imprisoning the persons of their kings, as it happened in the case of Pausanias. The institution of the Ephori began in the reign of Theopompus, whose wife reproaching him, that he would leave to his children the regal authority in a worse condition than he had received it: on the contrary, said he, I shall leave it to them in a much better condition, as it will be more permanent and lasting.

The Spartan government then was not purely monarchical. The nobility had a great share in it, and the people were not excluded. Each part of this body politic, in proportion as it contributed to the public good, found in it their advantage; so that in spite of the natural restlessness and inconstancy of man's heart, which is always thirsting after novelty and change, and is never cured of its disgust to uniformity, Lacedæmon persevered for many ages in the exact observance of her laws.

SECOND INSTITUTION. The Division of the Lands, and the Prohibition of Gold and Silver Money.

The second and the boldest institution of Lycurgus,† was the division of the lands, which he looked upon as absolutely necessary for establishing peace and good order in the commonwealth. The greater part of the people were so poor, that they had not one inch of land of their own, whilst a small number of individuals were possessed of all the lands and wealth of the country; in order therefore to banish insolence, envy, fraud, luxury, and two other distempers of the state, still greater and more ancient than those, I mean extreme poverty and excessive wealth, he persuaded the citizens to give up all their lands to the commonwealth, and to make a new division of them, that they might all live together in a perfect equality, and that no pre-eminence or honours should be given but to virtue and merit alone.

This scheme, extraordinary as it was, was immediately executed. Lycurgus divided the lands of Laconia into 30,000 parts, which he distributed among the inhabitants of the country; and the territories of Sparta into 9000 parts, which he distributed among an equal number of citizens. It is said, that some years after, as Lycurgus was returning from a long journey, and passing through the lands of Laconia in the time of harvest, and observing, as he went along, the perfect equality of the sheaves of reaped corn, he turned towards those that were with him, and said smiling, Does not Laconia look

The word signifies comptroller or inspector † Plut. in vit. Lyo. p. 44.